Will there be more Brett Favres?

The saga of Brett Favre is its own unique story, one that’s been going on the last three years. But look at it in another way, and perhaps there is something to be gained for other older players.

Could it be that aging veterans who still want to play, yet don’t want to go through the rigors of the off-season like Favre, might have a place in the NFL moving forward?

“I think you have to make a decision as an organization,” Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan said. “ Minnesota made that decision. They believe Brett Favre is the difference between getting to the Super Bowl and not getting there, and they felt comfortable with that.”

I asked Shanahan if, in retrospect, he might have considered a similar arrangement for John Elway after he had won two straight Super Bowls for the Broncos. Elway had said upon retiring after the 1998 season that he loved the idea of playing in the games, but felt he couldn’t take the year-round training involved with preparing to play.

“Knowing John, he’s going to be all in,” Shanahan said. “Being the leader of that team and living in town, there’s no way the you’re going to have the chance to win the Super Bowl if he’s the quarterback and he’s not working out with the players. He set the tempo. With Brett being in Mississippi , it’s different than being in Minnesota . Each situation is different.”